Grain-scourer.



No. 806,055. PATENTED NOV. 28, 1905.

W. G. BRENNER.

GRAIN SGOURER.

APPLICATION FILED MARJB, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES 19a E T OFFICE..-

" WILLIA G. BRENNER, 01 i CKPORT, INDIANA.

GRAINQSCOURER.

To all whom it may concern." 7

Be it known that .1, WILLIAM C. BRENNER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockmachines, and the improvements hereinafter described especially adapt the machine for scouring wheat, rye, barley, rice, oats, cor'n, &c. v

The main object of the invention is to so improve the revolvingcylinder, including the beaters thereof,that the grain during the scouring operation will be violently agitated and thrown back and forth against the heaters and the inner surfacesv of the casing, the construction and arrangement of the beaters being designed to deliver the grains or kernels endwise against the abrasive and scouring surfaces of the casing, thereby effecting a much more thorough scouring and polishing of the grains during their passage through the casing.

It is well understood. that the portion of each grain or kernel which comes in contact.

with the case of anordinary grain-scouring machine 18 verysmall, owlng to the oval'shape of the grain or kernel. I

The present invention aims to overcome this difliculty by subjecting practically half the surface of each grain or kernel to the scourin'g action of the beaters. Incident to this is, of course, the reduction in time in the scouring operation, or, conversely, the scouring of a greater quantity of grain in acertain time and within a machine of a certain capacity.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of'parts as hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view through thecase of a grainscouring machine, showing the scouring-cylinder with its beaters arranged therein. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the outer working surface of one of the centrifugal beaters.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the inner working Specification of Letters Patent. I Application filed March 16, 1904. Serial No. 198.496.

Patented Nov. 28. 1905.

view of one of the beaters, showing the corrugated surface thereof. Like reference-numerals designate-corresponding parts in all the, figures.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a scouring-machine case which is cylindrical,

.but otherwise may be of any desired or preferred construction and provided with suitable inlet and outlet openings. (Not shown.) Arranged centrally of the case 1 is the shaft 2 of the beating-cylinder 3, which preferably consists of spiders 4:, the nearly radial arms 5 and 6 of which extend outward and are con: nected by obliquely-disposed end bars 7 ,which form seats for'the centripetal beaters 8, the arms 6 being of greater length than the arms 5 and forming seats .for the centrifugal heaters,

as shown.

Each centripetal beater is composed of sections 10 and 11, 10 designating the forward section, which terminates in a beveled and comparatively sharp gathering edge 12, which moves in closer proximity to the inner surface of the case than any other portion of the scouring-cylinder. preferably extend entirely across the case, and said sections are provided with reve'rselyrabbeted and lapping portions 13 and 14: where they meet, thus providing for adjusting the width ofeach centripetal beater and advanc ing or retracting the gathering edge thereof and correspondingly advancing or retracting the rear edge of the same for bringing said rear edge to the proper relative distance from the centrifugal beater located in rear thereof.

In order to provide for the adjustment of the sections of the centripetal beaters above The sections 10 and 11 referred to,'the end portions of the sections. v

10 and 11 are provided with transverselyelongated slots 15, which receive bolts 16, passing through openings in the seats 7 the slots 15 permitting said sections to be adjusted on the seats and firmly secured when brought 4 to the proper adjustment.

A centrifugal beater 9 is located in rear of each centripetal beater, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and at a suitable distance therefrom,

the beater 9 extending obliquely across the plane of the, centripetal beater located in advance thereof, sothat the grain passing along the inner surface of the beater 8 will be delivered against the forward working face of the beater 9, traveling thence by centrifugal action along the working surface of the beater 9, from which it is hurled with considerable force against the inner surface of the case 1.

IIO

The inner surface of the rear section of the centripetal beater 8 is corrugated, as shown at 17, said corrugations extending transversely of the beater or in the direction of movement of the beater. The outer or working surface of each beater 9 is also corrugated, as shown at 18, the corrugations extending transversely of the beater or substantially parallel with the direction of movement of the outer portion of the scouring-cylinder.

In a cylinder twenty-four inches long, running at the rate of six hundred revolutions per minute, it usually takes wheat about fifteen seconds to pass through the machine, and it is estimated that the wheat passing from the inner surface of the case under the centripetal beater and over the centrifugal beater back to the case will change its course four hundred and fifty times in fifteen seconds and receive one hundred and fifty severe shocks, thus scouring the grain, while the shock or jar dislodges foreign matter from the entire body of the wheat, including the crease, which cannot be presented to the scouring-surface. In machines where the beaters are all at the same angle they form a ring of grain against the inner surface of the case that is seldom broken until it escapes from the machine. The breaking of this ring of grain is essential to the perfect scouring of the ends of the grain, and under the arrangement hereinabove described the ends of the grain are presented for scouring in the crushing action of the stream of grain each time the direction thereof is changed. By reason of the formation and arrangement of the corrugations 17 and 18 the grains or kernels follow along the corrugations endwise and are presented to and hurled against the inner surface of the casing, so that the extremities of the grains first strike the case and are thus scoured and freed from foreign matter. The grain is first taken up by the gathering edge of the centripetal heaters and is carried along the under side of the same toward the center of the cylinder and is discharged directly against the centrifugal beaters, the corrugations of which cause the separate grains or kernels to move lengthwise until they are delivered from and hurled by said beaters against the case. At the point on each centrifugal beater where they grain is delivered from the centripetal beater there is a slight bulk to the grain; butin moving outward along each centrifugal beater the velocity of the grain gradually increases while the bulk decreases, thus allowing the grain to follow the corrugations and to be individually hurled endwise against the case. The gathering edges of the centripetal beaters may be arranged close to the inner surface of the case, so as to take advantage of the rebound of the grain from the case caused by the shock or impact of the grain at such point.

To obtain a close or thorough scouring action, the forward section of each heater 8 should be moved close to the inner surface of the case, which has the effect of gathering the grain more rapidly and forcing the same inward, thus preventing the accumulation of a ring of grain around the inner surface of the case. It is well understood that the portion of a grain of wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, &c., which comes in contact with a scouring-case is very small, owing to the oval shape of the grain. By providing the corrugations on the different heaters and arranging them as shown and described nearly one-half of each grain or kernel comes in contact with the corrugations and is thus subjected to the scouring action. The grain is thus uniformly scoured and polished and the capacity of the machine greatly increased.

The greatest accumulation of grain under ordinary conditions takes place between the lowest point of the case and a point about half-way up the ascending side of the case. The beaters 11 should therefore be adjusted relatively to the heaters 9, so as to hold the flood of grain deposited thereon when the edges 12 enter the accumulated grain, the adjustment being such that the grain will have been fed through the opening between each pair of heaters 11 and 9 by the time the edge 12 of the beater 11 reaches the samepoint again in the next revolution. This insures an even circulation.

I am aware of a prior patent showing a centrifugal dressing-machine comprising a casing containing a beating-cylinder provided with beaters arranged in pairs, the several pairs being disposed or spaced some distance apart around the periphery of the beatingcylinder, each pair comprising a centripetal and a centrifugal beater mounted in fixed (non-adjustable) relation to each other and to the casing, the centripetal beaters being arranged in advance of the centrifugal heater to deflect the grain thereto, whereby in the rotation of the cylinder the gathered grain is first thrown centripetally against the centrifugal beater and then thrown by centrifugal force by the latter against the casing, thus obtaining two distinct beating operations instead of one, as in ordinary grain-scourers using centrifugal beaters alone, at each point around the periphery of the beating-cylinder where the heaters are provided. This construction of centripetal dressing-machine is effective for the dressing of granular or pulverulent materials--such as flour, middlings, and the like, and some kinds of grain and seedbut is ineffective for the dressing or treatment of seeds or grain which vary to a material extent in size, shape, weight, texture, and construction.

It is of the utmost importance in the provision of a machine having a wide range of operation for treating different grains and seeds to construct and arrange thecfiitripetal and centrifugal beaters'in such-manner "that:

the centripetal heaters may be thrown out. of

action to permit the centrifugal heaters to operate alone-to perform the ordinary scouring action and to enable said centripetal'beaters, to be adjusted also to regulate their action upon the grain, as well as to provide'eifective means to causethe gathered grain to be thrown endwise against the centrifugal heaters and acting portion of the casing to thoroughly clean. and prevent breakage of lengthy grains which cannot he-thrown broadside against the operating'parts without injury thereto. In

order to provide a machine whichwilloperate effectually upon grains of widely different.

characteristics, I not only mount the centripetal heaters 8 upon the seats 7 in the manner described, but arrange the centripetal and centrifugalbeaters in pairs, each pair comprising a centrifugal anda centripetal beater, the centripetal beater of each pair being arranged in advance of its coacting centrifugal heater, and

I also so mount and arrange the heaters of each:

pair relatively to eachother that the gathering edge 12 of the centripetal beater projects be-v yond and followsclosely in rear'of the outer edge of the centrifugal beater of the pairin advance thereof, while the'rear edge of said centripetal beater projects in close relation to the centrifugal beater ofthe same pair Bythis arrangement and by the structural organization of each centripetal beater heretofore described it willbe observed that the gathering-section 10 of the centripetal beateris adjustable, so vas to move its gathering edge 12 closer to or farther fromthe rim of the casing 1, while the rear or inner edge of the delivery-section 11 of said beater is adjustable toward and from the following centrifugal beater 9 of the same pair, the arrangement ofthe rear edge of the said delivery-section 11 relative to the centrifugal beater 9 in rear thereof being such as to providea throat orpassage between the two through which the grain fed bythe centripetal-heater to the following centrifugal beaterpasses outwardlyto be thrown by the centrifugal beater against the wall of the case ing. Thus the sections 10 and 11 .of each beater may not only be adjusted in unison to move the beater bodily toward and from the casing and following centrifugal beater, but said sections may be independently adjusted tofar' range'the beater for various operations in the treatment of the grain. It will be further ob"- served that the corrugations of the centripetal beater are disposed wholly upon the inner face of the delivery-section 11 of said beater, while the gathering-face of the section 10/ is smooth or plane-surfaced, and the operating-face of the beater 9 is corrugated from edge to edge thereof transversely in the direction of rotation of the cylinder. This construction is important, as 'will appear from the following description. V

In scouring corn it is found that the action of. a machine having both centripetal and centrifugal heaters is too violent, the corn hecause of its relatively great weight and peculiar shapebeing shattered by the multiplicity of impacts againstthe surfaces'of the heaters and easing. In. order to remedy this defect and to adapt the present machine for scouring corn without injury thereto, the centripetal heaters are thrown completely out of action a by adjusting them inwardly, so as to bring the gathering edges 12 thereof inwardlypf the outer edges of the centrifugal heaters and si- 1 multaneously by the inward movement of the centripetal heaters causing the delivery-sections thereof to partially or wholly close the throats or passages between the same and the centrifugal heaters. The outer edges of the centrifugal heaters .will then project to a greater extent, allowing the grain or corn to increasein area or thickness inwardly from the rimof the cylinder, so that the centrifugal heaters will alone operate upon the same, thus converting the machine intoan ordinary scou'rer, the action of which will be sufficient for cornand hulled rice, as there is no fuzz to be removedfrom these grains. tice it is found necessary to deflect the ring of grain to a greater or less extent, this is accom- When in prac v plished by adjusting the centripetal heater 5 outwardly, so that its gathering edge'12 projects to a greater or less'eXtent beyond the circular path of the beater 9,,whereby any portion of the ring of grain may he deflected to the acting face of the heater 9 and thence to the case along the corrugations of said heater, the balance or remainder of the ring of grain staying, against the case to form a cushion for the portion delivered by the heater 9, which is an effective mode of operation in the treatment of frail grain, as the cushioningportion of the ring will prevent the same from striking too violently and being broken. In the removal of the bulls from rice a different mode of ope eration is pursued, the gathering edge 12 of the centripetal beater being adjusted close to the scouring-case, so as to gather practically all the grain from the case, the rice passing along the under side of the heater 8 and being de-' liv'eredthereby to the heater 9. In moving outward on the heater 9 the grains of rice are forced to seek the lowest point on the face of ends ofthe hulls, whereby the grains are lib- I erated. It will be understood, of course, that the rice takenup by the gathering edge of the centripetal beater first falls down the plane working face of the gathering-section 10 of &

said beater, is then turned end wise by the corrugation 17 on the delivery-section 11 of the beater, and thrown in such position against the corrugated face of the beater 9, whose corrugations at 18 in turn adjust the rice to be thrown endwise against the case, thus preventing the grain from being cast sidewise in either instance against the operating-surface and preventing breakage of the kernel thereof. This mode of operation is essential and the most effective in polishing or scouring the ends of wheat, rye, and hulled oats and in hulling rice, barley, and oats, which grains can only be effectually treated by end wise impact in the direction of their greatest extent or major axis, as a shock or impact sufficient to polish or remove the hulls by a broadside contact would result in the kernel of the grain being injured or broken.

It is well known that the greatest accumulation of grain in machines of this class occurs on the bottom and ascending side of the scouring-ease. When the gathering edge 12 of the centripetal beater enters this accumulation, it scoops up, as it were, a greater amount of grain than it is possible for it to take at any other point in the path of revolution of the beating-cylinder. This grain is delivered to the coaeting beater 9 and is thrown out in bulk against the ascending side of the case, thus ordinarily causing serious hammering at this point in the case. Another disadvantage of taking up this excessive amount of the grain is that such a quantity of grain cannot be properly adjusted by the corrugated face of the beater 9. In order to overcome this diiiieulty, the throat or passage between the centripetal heater and the following centrifugal beater may be contracted by adjusting the inner edge of the delivery-section ll of the centripetal beater toward the corrugated face of the centrifugal beater, the said inner edge of the section 11 being thereby brought into position to serve as a dam or regulator to control the feed of the flood of grain along the corrugations 18 and spreading the same evenly thereover, so that the grain will be properly adjusted before it is thrown by the beater 9 against the case.

It will thus be seen that the peculiar arrangement of the sets of beaters and adjustability of the centripetal beaters 8 in my improved construction of machine permits the centripetal beaters to be rendered inoperative when their use is not required and enables these beaters to be adjusted to control the feed of the grain in the most eflicient manner to enable grains which vary in size, shape, weight, texture, and construction to be treated without injury.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A grain-scourer comprising a scouringease, a rotary cylinder therein, and a series of centripetal and centrifugal beaters carried by said cyliiRi'er, each centripetal beater having a plane gathering portion and a corrugated delivery portion to deliver the grain endwise against the following centrifugal beater.

2. A grain-scourer eon'iprising a scouringcase, a rotary cylinder therein, and a series of centrifugal and centripetal beaters carried by the cylinder, each centrifugal beater having a corrugated working face and each centripetal beater a plane gathering portion and a corrugated delivery portion to deliver the grain endwise against the corrugated surface of the following centrifugal beater, the latter acting to deliver the grain in like manner against the case.

3. A grain-seourer comprising a scouringease, a rotary cylinder therein, and aseries of centripetal and centrifugal beaters carried by said cylinder, said beaters being arranged in pairs, the centripetal beater of each pair being arranged in advance of the centrifugal heater and consisting of adjustable gathering and delivery sections, said sections being respectively adjustable toward and from the easing and toward and from the working surface of the centrifugal beater.

4- A grain-scourer comprising a scouringcase, a rotary cylinder therein, and a series of beaters carried by said cylinder, said beaters being arranged in pairs, each beater com prising acentripetal and a centrifugal beater, the centripetal beater being arranged in advance of the centrifugal beater in the direction of rotation of the cylinder, and each centripetal beater comprising gathering and delivery sections independently adjustably connected to the cylinder, whereby said centripetal beater may be adjusted bodily toward and from the casing or its sections adjusted independently relative to the case and the working face of the centrifugal beater.

5. A grain-scourer comprising a scouringease, a rotary cylinder therein, a series of contripetal beaters carried by said cylinder and each comprising adjustable delivery and gathering sections, the former having a plane and the latter a corrugated working face, and a series of centrifugal beaters also carried by said cylinder and provided with working faces corrugated transversely thereof relative to the direction of rotation of the cylinder, said beaters being arranged in pairs, each pair comprising a centripetal beater and a following centrifugal beater, the construction and arrangement being such that the sections of each centripetal beater are respectively adjustable toward and from the ease and toward and from the working face of the cooperating centrifugal beater.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ILLIAM C. BRENNER.

Witnesses:

E. D. EHRMAN, CHAS. T. BAKER. 

